March 21, 2010

Greg Walker on Mark Teahen

“Right now the effort level is too high,” hitting coach Greg Walker said Sunday morning. That was before Teahen headed to the minor league complex to get extra at-bats in an effort to find the stroke that produced a .404 batting average against the Sox last season while playing for the Royals.

“There’s no fluidity to it. Everything is hard. He needs to slow the game down,” Walker continued. “All we’re looking for is the guy who hits to all fields and hits line drives and in gaps and drives in runs. He’s done it before.”

The Sox and Teahen realize two weeks are left before the regular season, but they want more signs of encouragement from their new third baseman, who is hitting .120 in 25 at-bats and hasn’t hit the ball with authority.

“All that matters is that he’s ready to go on Opening Day,” Walker said. “There’s still time. But to accelerate the process, he needs more at-bats.”